Mother. Atheist. Cynic. And all gluten free!

Tag Archives: kids

Sometimes I feel like I’ve got too many interests and activities to really carve out a meaningful online presence for myself. I mean obviously I want to bring attention to Eleven Geese Jewellery because that brings in money for me. But I also want to read and write about kids, history, animals, food, science, um just everything really.

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I almost forgot I had a blog. Honestly, I’ve been so busy, blogging is a luxury!

I’m still studying, my Ancient History is THIS CLOSE (just imagine me holding my fingers really close together) to being finished. Two more units, less than half a year left (presuming I don’t fail anything) and I’ll be done. I am looking forward to the end with relief, even though I’ve enjoyed almost every part of this. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with it, or whether a mere Bachelor of Arts majoring in Ancient History will lead to a paying job.

I’ve also continued with my jewellery making and selling, and my first Etsy store is doing reasonably well. It’s lots of fun. I also had a market stall last weekend, although it pretty much tanked. It was a slow market, not many people and not many sales all round. I have another one next month which I think should do better; it’s more my demographic. My etsy store is http://ElevenGeeseJewellery.etsy.com.

I have also started painting. My mother was a painter when I was a kid, and my mother-in-law paints, too. My own lack of ability has always been a sore spot for me, I have always wanted to be able to paint, but felt myself unable to. However recently I have discovered fluid acrylics and the pouring method of painting, and I am loving it! Abstract and experimental techniques allow me to be creative without having to be realistic. I now have a second Etsy shop for my art and some homewares. It isn’t very full yet, but having it allows me to justify the experimenting! http://ElevenGeeseHomewares.etsy.com.

Finally, I have started doing some audio transcription from home – my only guaranteed paycheck, and it isn’t much! However, it is yet another of the many things keeping me busy.

The kids are now both in school, they’re both doing really well and having a great time. Ellie’s been off sick for the last week with gastro, but she’s fine now. Ellie’s in grade two, Evie is in prep, and they’re thriving. Both of their teachers are very pleased.

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My poor blog often gets neglected in favour of Facebook, and a lot of what I post there is obviously missed by my readers here. If I have any left. So I would like to present a small collection of the things my children have said and done over the past months for your entertainment!

13th May 2015

I told Ellie that everyone’s naked under their clothes. She goes, “I’m not; I usually wear three layers!”

Evie just came up to me and said, “I smell horrible because I farted. Have a smell of my bottom!”

11th May 2015

Ellie’s teacher tells me that Ellie’s work and improvements often get used as examples for the rest of the class. She’s getting level 16 readers sent home now.

8th May 2015

Me: *wakes Evie up from her nap*
Evie: Hi mum. *yawn*
Me: You’ll have to get up soon so we can go get Ellie from school.
Evie: Poop.

7th May 2015

Apropos of nothing, Evie just said to me, “Mum, I love you too much to flush you away in the toilet!’

4th May 2015

Ellie’s been learning about symmetry at school; she asked me this morning if her bottom was symmetrical.

30th April 2015

Elspeth hit Evelyn with a bangle, breaking the bangle, and now she’s having conniptions because I said I won’t buy her a new one.

28th April 2015

The girls are playing shop, and their economy is totally screwed. Ellie charged Evie “twenty hundred dollars” for a little foam sticker, and then “a single hair” for a wooden building block.

27th April 2015

Evie: If I step in coffee I will get coffee on my shoes and then daddy will have to drink my shoes and that will be funny.

22nd April 2015

Playing doctors with Evie, and she assures me that there is a lion living in my throat and that’s why my leg is sore.

21st April 2015

Ellie saw me taking my anti-depressant this morning and asked me what it was for. I told her it was medicine to stop me being sad and cranky, so she started pouting and stomping her foot and saying she needed some too!

15th April 2015

Ellie just said to me, “My tummy is really really really sick, I must be having a baby.”

11th April 2015

Evie: My finger hurts when I touch people.
Me: So don’t touch people.
Evie: But I have hands.

Ellie was trying to get Evie interested in various toys and games, and Evie said, “All I want to do is make a mess!” Ellie replied enthusiastically, “Okay!”

27th March 2015

I read Ellie the little bit from the Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy about how to fly. Now she’s jumping off the couch trying to miss the floor.

22nd March 2015

Evie: I did two poos! Not four or three, or five or eighteen.

19th March 2015

The girls have started calling themselves Science Princesses. I have no idea exactly what that means, but it’s awesome.

14th March 2015

Evie was in the bath when she decided she needed to wee. She told Aidan, “I want you to dry my bum so the wee doesn’t get wet!”

3rd March 2015

Elspeth has been getting quite upset lately, telling me, “I want to be a grown up NOW!!!” When asked why, she says, “I want to have a chicken farm and have fresh eggs for breakfast every morning.”

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About a month ago, Elspeth started school and Evelyn started kindergarten.

Evelyn spent last year sitting in on classes at kindergarten with her big sister, so she’s an old hand at this. Her teacher describes her as “perfect” and “a model student”. No surprises there, she’s a sweet and obliging little person when she wants to be! She’s very happy and having a great time.

I was worried about Elspeth; she tooks months to settle into kindergarten last year and I don’t think she was ever really happy there. I anticipated similar problems with beginning school. However, with the help of some people in her class who she knew from kindergarten, and a fantastic teacher, she’s actually doing really well. I think the tighter structure of school suits her, she’s gaining confidence and doing really well. I knew she could read pretty well, but she’s further ahead than I thought, and she’s found it in herself to stand up and read books aloud to her class, so I’m very proud.

Of course, all these new activities result in tired kids, which often means grumpy kids, but I think I can put up with that! I’m really pleased with both of them.

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I think just about everybody is aware that becoming a parent is going to involve some sacrifice. You give up work for a while, you have to forgo certain social activities, you can’t sleep whenever you like. But over the last five years of motherhood, it’s the smaller things that stick out.

Music choice: I can’t listen to my own music without somebody saying “But I wanted Disney songs!”

TV and movies: Ditto, if it isn’t Disney or Pixar, it just doesn’t happen.

A leisurely meal: Any meal is inevitably going to be interrupted, either by the need to go and assist a child with something or by a child wanting some of what I’m eating.

Daydreaming: Doing nothing sends children a clear signal that now is a good time to need me.

Silence: What is that?

Walking: I can’t just stride off anymore, I’ve got to modify your pace to suit shorter legs. This has also lowered my level of fitness and my weight; I used to briskly walk everywhere, but now I either dawdle or take the bus.

Belongings: Nothing is really mine anymore, not if somebody else thinks it looks appealing. Without constant vigilance and repeated “That is not yours!” things get lost or broken.

Personal space: I can’t move without elbowing somebody in the head.

Doctors, dentists, and hairdressers: I prefer not to have two bored restless children hanging about while people are trying to do delicate or precise things to me.